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| Actress Lee Jeong-un waves as she enters Paradise City Hotel in Incheon Thursday for the 40th Blue Dragon Awards. She received the Best Supporting Actress Award there for her role in "Parasite." / Yonhap |
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" dominated the 40th Blue Dragon Awards on Thursday at Paradise City Hotel in the port city of Incheon.
"Parasite," which won the top prize Palme d'Or at the Cannes International Film Festival earlier this year, was nominated in 11 categories out of 12 and won five awards ― for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress and Best Art.
Director Bong was euphoric in an acceptance speech after winning the Best Director Award.
"This is my first time winning the best director award at the Blue Dragon Awards," he said. "I feel like I stand in the way of other talented directors who were nominated in this category because all of them are younger than I am. But, please forgive me taking this honor this time because it is one I've wanted to win for a long time."
Bong said he would like to be a "parasite," in a positive sense, which can make a creative contribution for Korean cinema.
In an emotional acceptance speech, Cho Yeo-jeong, winner of the Best Actress Award for her role in "Parasite," said she felt a lot of pre-ceremony pressure because of various negative thoughts. "I was afraid this film would not make it only in the Best Actress Award category because of me," she said.
Tears welled up in her eyes. Cho said she was desperate for unknown reasons throughout filming and that sense of desperation pushed her successfully into the shoes of her character to present it well. "I felt like I was a woman in unrequited love and could be dumped any time. My performance in the film shows that kind of desperation," she said.
Another emotional speech came when Lee Jeong-un was named Best Supporting Actress for her role in the same movie.
"These days, what I hear most from people is that my career bloomed much later than they had expected…Well, I should say this to you guys. I needed time to become what I am now, I mean in terms of my look and body shape," she said.
Her remarks sparked laughter from the audience.
Her humor turned into tears as she spoke of her late-blooming career. She rose to stardom for "Parasite," nearly two decades after she initially debuted as a theater actress in 1991.
"You know what? I became scared after I got famous from the movie," she said. "I feel like I deserve a few days of a rest because I made it."
Best Actor Award went to Jung Woo-sung who starred in "Innocent Witness."
Director Kim Bo-ra's debute feature film "House of Hummingbird" won the Best Original Screenplay Awards. The independent film bagged 35 international awards.
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